Overview of the AdvancED Standards and Accreditation Process for Schools
Effective 2007-08

"Accreditation is an activity, not a status.
Schools are accredited because of the way they move, not the way they stand."
- John A. Stoops, Late Executive Director, CITA

Excellence. It is what we, as educators, are striving to achieve for our students, our schools, and our school systems. Excellence goes beyond improving attendance rates, discipline indicators, and test scores. Excellence is about breaking through barriers and exceeding expectations. It encompasses doing well now and being positioned to do well in the future. It is dynamic, always striving to do more and be better, never static.

Excellence is both the commitment and mark of accreditation.

To enhance and strengthen that commitment and mark of excellence, the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), and National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE), have come together to form one strong and unified organization dedicated to advancing excellence in education through accreditation, research, and professional services.

Known as AdvancED, the unified organization creates the world's largest education community, representing over 23,000 public and private schools and districts in 30 states and 65 countries and serving over 15 million students. The inclusion of NSSE, the research and development arm of the regional accrediting associations, brings to schools and districts greater access to NSSE's products and strong research base on the factors that impact student learning.

Shared Standards & Accreditation Process. Through AdvancED, NCA CASI and SACS CASI have defined shared, research-based accreditation standards that cross state, regional, and national boundaries. Accompanying these standards is a unified, clear and powerful accreditation process designed to help schools continuously improve. Schools will continue to earn the NCA CASI or SACS CASI accreditation seals based on the region in which they reside. The shared standards and accreditation process enhance the value, consistency, and meaning of the NCA CASI and SACS CASI accreditation seals.

The AdvancED accreditation standards and process that will be implemented by NCA CASI and SACS CASI beginning in 2007-08 are based on ongoing self-assessment against the quality standards, rigorous on-site evaluation, and continuous improvement. The following pages describe the unified standards and accreditation process.

Earning and Maintaining Accreditation

To earn and maintain accreditation from NCA CASI or SACS CASI, schools must:

1. Adhere to the AdvancED Accreditation Standards for Quality Schools.
2. Engage in ongoing self-assessment and continuous improvement.
3. Document results of improvement efforts.
4. Complete a Standards Assessment Report between six weeks and six months prior to the Quality Assurance Review.
5. Host a Quality Assurance Review Team once every five years.
6. Act on the Quality Assurance Review Team's recommendations.
7. Submit a progress report two years following the Quality Assurance Review.

In addition, accredited schools pay accreditation fees that are used to provide accredited schools with research-based standards, nationally-trained quality assurance review team chairs, high-quality resources and tools, and ongoing professional development.

Term Accreditation

The accreditation process is based on a five-year term accreditation. The process helps focus schools on a continuous process of improvement, providing external checks, support, and feedback to help schools continuously improve. The following chart outlines the process over the five-year term.

The Standards

The AdvancED accreditation standards serve as the foundation for the accreditation process. The seven standards and accompanying indicators are tied directly to the research on factors that impact student learning. The seven standards address the following areas:

1. Vision and Purpose
2. Governance and Leadership
3. Teaching and Learning
4. Documenting and Using Results
5. Resources and Support Systems
6. Stakeholder Communications and Relationships
7. Commitment to Continuous Improvement

Accredited schools adhere to the standards and use them as a tool for ongoing self-assessment. They use the standards to continually ask themselves, "What more can we be doing to benefit our students?"

Accredited schools use a disciplined approach to document and maintain evidence of their adherence to the standards. They are continually ready to answer the question, "How do we know we meet the standards?"

The standards are included in the enclosed packet of materials and may be accessed online at www.advanc-ed.org.

The Quality Assurance Review

Purpose. Once every five years, the school hosts a Quality Assurance Review team. The purpose of the Quality Assurance Review is to:

1. Evaluate the school's adherence to the standards.
2. Assess the effectiveness of the school's improvement efforts.
3. Review performance results and how those results are used to inform improvement efforts.
4. Provide high-quality feedback with clear recommendations and actionable next steps.
5. Make an accreditation recommendation.

Preparation. To prepare for the review, the school completes the online Standards Assessment Report between six weeks and six months prior to the scheduled review. The report engages the school community in an in-depth self assessment of each of the seven AdvancED standards. It helps the school identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement and provides the review team with a starting point for their work.

The school then gathers documentation to provide evidence and demonstrate adherence to the standards. The aim is to minimize additional paperwork for the school and allow the school to use existing materials and artifacts to assure the review team that it has met the standards.

The school works with the Quality Assurance Review team chair to define the schedule for the review team and ensure that the travel and accommodation needs of team members are met.

The Team. The Quality Assurance Review team is led by an AdvancED trained and certified team chair who is appointed to the school by the NCA CASI or SACS CASI State Office. Team members are selected for the team by the state office with input and discussion from the team chair to ensure that team members reflect areas of need/focus for the school. The size of the team varies depending on the size of the school, with teams ranging from 3-7 members.

Length of Visit. The review is scheduled by the NCA CASI/SACS CASI State Office and generally lasts two days, with at least one full day on campus.

The Review. While on site, the Quality Assurance Review Team provides an orientation, conducts interviews with members of the school community, visits classrooms, collects and reviews evidence, and meets to review findings. The team provides an oral exit report to the school, highlighting commendations, opportunities for improvement, and recommendations for action. The team also recommends an accreditation status for the school.

The Report. Following the visit, the review team completes the Quality Assurance Review Report and submits it to a nationally-trained reader who reviews the report to ensure it is well written, is of high quality, and contains targeted recommendations that will enhance the school's capacity to improve school effectiveness and student performance. The school then receives the final report and uses the recommendations in the report to guide improvement efforts.

Continuous Improvement

Accredited schools are committed to being better today than they were yesterday. This commitment to continuous improvement is demonstrated by the school's adherence to the standards and implementation of a quality improvement process that yields results for students.

Flexibility in Choice of Process. Schools may use the improvement process of their choice that meets the requirements of the AdvancED standards. This may include the use of the state's improvement model, NCA CASI's eight-phase school improvement model, NSSE's frameworks for improvement, or any number of improvement processes that schools have found to be effective in enhancing organizational effectiveness and student performance.

Efficacy of Process. The Quality Assurance Review team examines the quality of the implementation of the process and looks for evidence of the effectiveness of the chosen school improvement process. The team offers guidance and support on ways to enhance the school's continuous improvement efforts.

Two Year Progress Report. Two years following the Quality Assurance Review team visit, the school submits a progress report detailing the actions and progress the school has made on the team's recommendation. The progress report is intended to serve as a tool for schools to stay focused on the recommendations of the team and to use the team report as a guide to enhancing their school's improvement efforts. The report is also used as a monitoring tool by the NCA CASI/SACS CASI State Office to provide assistance to the school and to ensure that the school is addressing any deficiencies in the standards.

The Accreditation Decision

The NCA CASI/SACS CASI State Office receives the Quality Assurance Review Team Report. The office works with a State Committee/Council of practitioners to review the team's accreditation recommendation and other evidence to recommend an accreditation status for the school. The state's recommendations are reviewed at the national level, where a final accreditation status is granted. The two year progress report and other documentation gathered over the course of the school's accreditation term are reviewed on an ongoing basis at the state and national levels to ensure continued adherence to the standards.

Making Excellence a Habit

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
- Aristotle

When truly embraced by the school, the accreditation process breeds a culture dedicated to excellence - never satisfied with good, always striving for greatness. Accreditation engages the entire school community in a continuous process of self-evaluation, reflection, and improvement. It invites external scrutiny and welcomes the constructive feedback of peers. It demands rigor, is based in data, and approaches documentation of results with discipline. Accreditation is about making the quest for excellence a habit; it's about being the best a school can be on behalf of the students it serves.

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